Get an inside look at new and improved downtown living spaces

Robin Plummer and her Maltipoo, Delilah, relax in the 1,150-square-foot loft at 44 Exchange Blvd. she shares with her husband, Ron. They sold a much larger, historic home in Le Roy to move to downtown Rochester. Their rent is $1,200 a month.(Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ)

Robin and Ron Plummer raised their daughter in a historic 3,500-square-foot Gothic Victorian home built in Le Roy in 1850. But later they had a yearning to be near where the action is.

So they sold or gave away many of their household goods and packed their bags to move into a loft-style apartment at 44 Exchange Blvd., across from the Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial.

"We wanted to go back into the city," says Robin Plummer, 50.

Plummer's colorful, eclectic-style apartment will be on the Landmark Society's Inside Downtown tour Oct. 4 and 5. The tour this year will highlight places to live and work downtown and in the Cascade District.

The tour will showcase 16 properties featuring adaptive reuse of older buildings as well as new construction in Rochester. It will stop at spaces such as the Nothnagle headquarters in the Cascade District, the newly renovated Academy Building on Fitzhugh Street and the newly built row houses on North Plymouth Avenue. In addition, Cravings restaurant will offer complimentary beverages for all ticketholders at its location at 158 W. Main St. as well as in Rochester Art Supply at 150 W. Main St.

The annual fall tour this year is sponsored by Buckingham Properties and Hugh and Mary Clare Hamlin. On the tour will be the penthouse of the old Daily Record Building at 11 Centre Park in the Cascade District that has been renovated by Buckingham Properties.

The 4,600-square-foot penthouse is home to Leslie and Arnold Rothschild. Leslie Rothschild is a real estate agent at ReMax Realty Group, and Arnold Rothschild is owner of Normal Communications and president and chairman of Rochester Broadway Theater League.

The Rothschilds, unlike most empty nesters, actually upsized their living space, moving from a 2,300-square-foot condominium in Webster five years ago. They wanted to be in the city near both of their jobs and cultural activities.

Leslie Rothschild put her own personal touches on the century-old penthouse. Most lofts lend themselves to a contemporary decor, but Leslie Rothschild had other plans for the large, open space. The loft has a primitive, country look in a modern setting.

"To me, it's so comforting and warm," she says.

The penthouse is the site for many parties and gatherings, Leslie Rothschild says. The game room in the middle of the space houses a pool table and a pinball machine. But the pool table is temporary, until Rothschild swings a big deal through her real estate work. "When I sell my million-dollar house, I'm replacing it with a grand piano," she says.

The outdoor deck is a source of relaxation in all seasons for the couple. They enjoy their container gardens during the warm weather months. In the winter, the windows to the deck become whitewashed with frost and snow, like an ever-changing painting.

On the building itself is an historic sign for The Daily Record, dating back to when the newspaper occupied 12,000 square feet. Buckingham Properties retained the sign when they developed the building into mixed-use commercial and residential space.

A few blocks away, the Plummers' apartment, you'll be greeted by a sleek international-style building. The silver exterior of 44 Exchange Blvd. was originally highlighted with cranberry-colored, horizontal panels. The windows were designed to open from a central pivot, but they're now hinged.

Inside, visitors will notice the colorful glass wall tiles by the elevators. They were previously hidden under layers of wall panels added later.

Robin Plummer enjoys the views of the surrounding buildings out her windows. And the proximity to restaurants and arts attractions can't be beat; the family often walks to restaurants in the Corn Hill neighborhood.

The two-bedroom, 1,150-square-foot apartment is a far cry from their big historic home out in Le Roy. But the family is enjoying a newfound freedom of less housework and yard upkeep, plus shorter commutes: Ron Plummer teaches at Brighton High School, and Robin Plummer works at Parkleigh in Rochester, both minutes from their new home.